The Union Public Service Commission – or UPSC in short, is the agency that recruits tomorrow’s administrators. It conducts the UPSC examination, also known as Civil Services Exam (CSE). Now, everyone knows that the preparation for UPSC examinations can be a lengthy and strenuous process.
It takes months, if not years, of preparation. You have the general knowledge segment, the current affairs, core subjects, and the ones you choose. Long story short – one has to make use of his time in the most efficient manner to crack this mountain of an exam.
How to do Time Management For UPSC Preparation? By employing the correct time management techniques and utilizing your time in the best way possible. Time management can be considered the most vital part of preparing for UPSC examinations. Time management is essential to have a good flow of studying and maximize your learnings. It can also help in countering too much stress from studying too much and prevent burnout.
You can also join a good UPSC coaching for your preparation and time management. The coaching institute has fixed timing for everything, so you will have fixed timing. You can sit in the library of the coaching institute and read. The Thought Tree is one such institute. They provide mentorship to their students and have a library facility available. Now let’s see some tips on Time Management for UPSC Preparation.
Time Management for UPSC Preparation
1. Assessing the Time
Make a few observations for yourself – Notice how much time you are productive, how much time you take in grasping concepts, how much time you take in writing or reading, how much time do you give to revision, how much time do you take for breaks, and so on. Please be honest in your approach of observations and then try to find patterns in how your day is spent.
Work on minimizing your time wastage and maximizing the time you are productive. If you manage to crack your day and routine patterns, you can build your productive time and better track the UPSC exam.
2. Setting Goals
Once you manage to assess the time you spend, you have to define a few objectives or goals that you will achieve in a set period of time. Remember that your goals must be smart, and by that, I literally mean SMART.
Specific – We do not do vague or undefined goals here! Keep your goals clear and cut.
Measurable – Your goal must be measurable in terms of progress you make.
Achievable – There isn’t anything that you cannot achieve, except for unrealistic goals. Keep ’em too ambitious, not impossible.
Realistic – Sister of achievable but differs in approaches. Realistic means something relevant and can be done in a particular situation. Your goals!
Timely – Throw in the start date and a deadline if you want to be successful. Be clear in defining the time period. It is kind of important.
On a serious note, the SMART theory will help you achieve your set goals and objectives. Big corporations employ these theories and diagrams to achieve their goals and grow as individuals.
3. Division is Fun
If you ever feel like some things or topics are taking too long and hampering your productivity, break it down. Dividing big chapters topic-wise or segment-wise is always preferred over studying the whole thing all at once.
For example (JUST AN EXAMPLE)
Integration and Differentiation is one huge chapter (so glad I dropped Math). People often struggle with this since it is highly conceptual and requires a lot of practice. So, break ’em up. Study Integration and Differentiation separately. This way, you can practice both of them with your best concentration and understand both of them properly.
4. No Strings Attached
If you study too much of the same subject or the same topic – you tend to get bored and pretty much feel like banging your head on a wall….. No? It’s just me, then. My point is – keep on jumping from subject to subject so that you do not feel monotonous and bored. But, my point is also that do not jump too often or frequently – then you’ll feel too detached. You’ll get there!
5. Take a Break
After long grinding sessions and just doing your “thang,” take a break. Do what you want – paint, dance, sing, make tik to- Oh sorry. Don’t forget your hobbies in pursuit of your passion. It’ll make you feel fresh and rejuvenate you from a long and tiring day. Aside from that, keep taking little breaks between the long hours (52/17 rule, i.e., you study for 52 minutes and take a 17-minute break). It is completely up to you how you want to approach this – but make sure you take your breaks.
